This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
Various passive and active occupant restraint systems are known for enhancing occupant protection in the event of a pending or actual vehicle impact. Passive systems are deployed with no action required by the occupant. For example, the use of frontal airbags protecting a vehicle occupant in the event a frontal crash or a laterally offset frontal crash is common in modern automotive technology. The frontal airbag for the driver is usually located in the hub area of the steering wheel and the frontal airbag for the front seated passenger is usually located inside the instrument panel.
For many years, attempts have been made to adapt frontal airbag technologies to provide enhanced protection for a rear seated occupant. In this regard, various seating solutions have been proposed in which an airbag is mounted to a forward vehicle seat for rearward deployment.
While known arrangements including a vehicle seat with a rearwardly deployable airbag may have proven to be generally acceptable for specifically intended purposes, such systems for rear seat occupant protection are generally associated with disadvantages. In this regard, airbags for these known systems generally require relatively large cushion volumes, generally require more inflation gas to fill, and generally require more packaging space within the vehicle seat. Due to the relatively large cushion size, such airbags may require inflators with faster rise rates. Additionally, these airbags may not best accommodate rear-facing child seats.
Accordingly, it remains desirable to advance the relevant art by further enhancing rear occupant protection.